


NASAPlace

by ckret2



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: Dib-centric (Invader Zim), Father Figures, Father-Son Relationship, Gaz is there too but not as a focal character, Gen, NASA, Role Models
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-27
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:21:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27234151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ckret2/pseuds/ckret2
Summary: Professor Membrane is pleased when Dib wants to visit NASAPlace with him—even if it’s a ruse to get past a restraining order—although he’s a bit puzzled that Dib wants to hang out with the janitor.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 50





	NASAPlace

**Author's Note:**

> This one of two fics I wrote for [I AM ZIM](https://invaderzine.tumblr.com/), an Invader Zim zine. I’ll post the second one, starring the Tallest, sometime soon.

" _You_ want to come with _me_ to work?"

Professor Membrane tried not to get his hopes up. This wouldn't be the first time Dib had expressed some slight fleeting interest in real science; and every time before, he'd lapsed back into horrible madness. How did Membrane know this time wouldn't be any different?

"Y... Yeah! Totally!" Dib gave him an eager grin. (Almost _too_ eager. Whatever Dib might think, Membrane wasn't completely oblivious when Dib was up to something secret.) "You're going to NASAPlace tomorrow, right?"

Aha. Dib had a goal. Membrane would like to think it was a budding interest in astronomy—or maybe he was looking for an opportunity to advance his already impressive knowledge of rocket science—but he feared there was some ulterior motive Dib wasn't sharing. Knowing his son like he did, there was as good a chance as not that this sudden interest in NASAPlace was going to have something to do with aliens.

But what kind of a father would he be if he didn't keep trying to guide his son's impressionable, malleable young mind toward the hard sciences? And how much material could Dib really find to support his crazy fantasies of vampires and werewolves at a reputable institution like _NASAPlace?_ Why, a stronger bastion of pure, undiluted facts had never been constructed! Dib would spend the day surrounded by astronauts, physicists, engineers, and a bunch of security guards and cafeteria workers who'd wanted to be astronauts but had thrown up in the astronaut spinny thing. Membrane had even heard apocryphal rumors that some employees at NASAPlace had been inspired as children by science _fiction_ to become involved in science _fact._ They could only be a positive influence on Dib!

"Son," Membrane knelt and placed a hand on Dib's shoulder, "you don't know how thrilled I am that you want to spend the day engaged in _real science_ with your father. Of course you can come along!"

Dib's somewhat strained smile immediately relaxed. "Thanks, Dad!"

"Let me go ask your sister if she wants to come as well!" Membrane headed up stairs and knocked on her door. "Daughter?"

"Yeah?"

Membrane opened the door. Gaz was sitting with her back so near the edge of the bed she was in danger of falling backwards off of it, playing a video game on the TV screen on the wall over her bed. Membrane said, "Your brother is coming with me to NASAPlace tomorrow. Would you like to join us?"

Gaz considered the offer a moment. "Can we get pizza after NASAPlace?"

"I don't see why not."

Gaz shrugged. "Okay."

"Excellent! Get to sleep soon, daughter. We leave at precisely six o'clock!" Membrane shut the door.

###

"Oh no," the director of NASAPlace grumbled. "Of all the days—Dib, I thought we banned you from... Can somebody escort him outside?"

Several ceiling tiles were pulled aside to let a couple of security guards rappel down. "Whoa!" Dib scooted closer time Membrane's side. "Hey! No! I'm here with my dad!"

On Membrane's other side, Gaz scooted closet as well, eyeing the guards warily.

Membrane had never taken his kids to NASAPlace before. Since when had Dib known the NASAPlace director?

"You huh _whah?_ " The director looked dubiously between Membrane and Dib. His eyes widened as he noticed the family resemblance for the first time—Membrane got that look a lot—and he said, "Professor Membrane? The crazy UFO boy's _your_ kid?"

Membrane gave Dib a sharp look. What kind of trouble had he already gotten into here? Dib smiled nervously up at him.

Membrane had the sinking suspicion that Dib had just used him to get past the front door.

Gaz muttered to Dib, "You didn't tell him that NASAPlace banned you?" Membrane found it somewhat alarming that she knew this when he didn't.

He looked back at the director. "Yes. I'm proud to call the crazy UFO boy my son." He put a hand on Don's shoulder. "But there will be no crazy UFO talk today! Isn't that right, son?"

"Right! No alien-related emergencies this time," Dib assured him.

 _This time._ Hoo boy. Before he left, Membrane had to make time to find out what all Dib had been bothering the poor hard-working NASAPlace scientists with.

Membrane looked back at the director, who'd crossed his arms dubiously and, in the process, spilled half his coffee mug on the floor. "I just brought my kids along to show them some science in action."

"And get pizza," said Gaz, who'd looked back at her video game now that the guards had backed off.

"And get pizza."

The director gave Dib a mistrustful look, but reluctantly said, "If you're sure, Professor."

"I am!" He planted his hands on his hips. "Now, without further ado—begin the presentation preparations!" Three screens with holographic purple displays hovered up behind Membrane. Several funding-starved NASAPlace employees gaped in naked envy at the cutting-edge technology.

As the screens positioned themselves, Dib tugged on Membrane's lab coat and said quietly, "Dad. Since you're just gonna be giving your presentation now, is it okay if I..." He paused a moment. "Go... look at the rockets?"

"Hmm..." Membrane supposed there wasn't going to be much in his presentation that would directly interest Dib. And looking at the rockets could only help him develop a better appreciation for SCIENCE! But if he'd already been banned from NASAPlace once... "I want your word that you won't get into any more trouble, son."

"Sure, Dad! Promise!"

"All right. Go ahead. Absorb the educational opportunities presented by this fine facility for scientific discovery!"

Dib was out of the room before Membrane had finished the sentence.

He turned to Gaz. "Daughter! Would you like to see the rockets as well?"

Gaz had claimed a nearby empty chair and was staring at her mobile gaming unit, the picture perfect example of a well-behaved technology-distracted child. "Nah," she said. "I'm good."

"Very well." He supposed he should try to encourage her, seeing what a fine educational opportunity this was. But he was kind of glad at least one of his kids wanted to spend time around him.

###

Dib got several dark looks from people who recognized him as he hurried through NASAPlace's utilitarian halls; but as long as he kept his gaze focused straight ahead and didn't start talking about aliens, they let him be. Didn't want to risk getting stuck in a conversation with him, no doubt. Fine. There was nothing Dib could do for them if they weren't ready to face the truth. They'd better just hope the truth wasn't ready to face _them._

Or... or something. Something like that.

But the closer he got to his destination, the more accustomed the employees around him were to seeing him run around, so no one bothered him as he approached his ultimate destination:

The main janitor's closet.

Dib knocked quickly before swinging the door open. "Agent Darkbootie?"

Darkbootie started, dropping the spray bottle and wash rag he'd been putting on his cart. "Mothman! How did you get in? I thought you were banned from the premises."

Dib winced. "Yyyeah, I kinda still am?"

"You didn't break in, did you?" Darkbootie put a hand on Dib's shoulder, squinted both ways down the hall for any potential witnesses, and gently tugged Dib into the closet and so he could shut the door. "The Swollen Eyeball can't be helped by agents who are in prison for trespassing on government property, son. You've gotta be careful."

"It's fine, I came in with my dad," Dib said. "Listen—I'm here about the Jupiter footage you mentioned in the last email blast! Do you have it on you?"

"Well. A little impatient, aren't you?" Darkbootie tried to suppress a smile. He wasn't fooling Dib. "I said I'd share it at the monthly video conference call next Wednesday. Can't wait til then?"

"But it's the _weekend,_ " Dib protested. "If what you found is a plausible threat to life on Earth and I have to take Tak's ship out to deal with it, I can't do it on a school night. It's gotta be now!"

Darkbootie shook his head. "Seems like yesterday I was helping you suit up to ride in your first monkey rocket. Was that the first time you went to space?"

"Second," Dib said. "But the first time I didn't make it past Earth's orbit and I was tied up the whole time."

"Right, when the Spider kidnapped you." Darkbootie reached into the pocket of his tan trench coat hanging on the closet wall and rummaged around. Dib bounced eagerly on the balls of his feet. "And now here you are, traveling between the stars in a tax ship. You kids grow so fast these days."

Dib thought Darkbootie should sound impressed. Maybe even proud of Dib. Instead, he just sounded kinda sad. "I _have_ to grow fast. The fate of the Earth depends on it."

"If you gave the Eye enough info that we could get another couple of agents monitoring the Spider..."

"No," Dib said firmly. "I appreciate the Eyeball's support and resources, but I can't ask anyone else to get directly involved. The Spider's my problem."

"You _don't want_ to ask anyone else," Darkbootie corrected. "You keep trying to give us enough info to prove that he's a threat, but you never give us anything that could help us deal with him, too. Don't think I don't see that."

Dib winced at that _trying to._ "Yeah. Right." His efforts to get his proof into the Swollen Eyeball's hands never quite seemed to pan out, did it? He was lucky Darkbootie believed in him.

Darkbootie sighed. "I know you want to be a hero, Mothman. Just don't get yourself hurt."

With that admonishment delivered, he pulled out several papers stored in his jacket pocket. "Here," he said. "I don't have the footage on me—too dangerous to carry it around—but I printed out several of the best frames. I kind of thought that an interested party might be coming by in the next few days to check them out." He winked at Dib.

Grinning, Dib took the papers, unfolded them, and began studying the images.

###

"Anyway," Membrane said, "as you all know, I've come here today to make an incredibly important announcement! I'm sure all of you have been very worried about the news that the government is auctioning off NASAPlace to the highest bidder in order to subsidize more golf courses."

There were nods and a couple of mournful murmurs.

"Well! Today, it's my pleasure to announce that Membrane Labs won the bidding war for NASAPlace, meaning that you all work for me now! And unlike _some_ bidders, _I_ am dedicated to _pure science_. You can put all your fears of NASAPlace being converted into a theme park to rest. Your mission statement shall remain unchanged!"

Several employees sighed in relief. The director raised a hand, sloshing coffee onto the man standing beside him, and said, "What, uhhh... what about our funding?"

"Quintupled!"

The director blinked in shock. "We can afford creamer again..." His eyes turned toward the heavens as a lone tear rolled down his cheek.

A wan, haggard-looking young scientist—from her eye bags and caffeine tremors, probably fresh out of a doctorate program—raised one shaking hand. "Does that mean we can look at the camera feeds from Mars again?"

Membrane pointed at her. " _Yes,_ you _can!_ "

With a shriek of joy, she barreled across the room, shoved an intern over a desk, and punched the security guard blocking the camera feeds in the face.

It did Membrane's now mostly mechanical heart good to see such enthusiasm in the next generation of scientists.

###

For all the world, the two aliens shown standing on a floating platform beside Jupiter looked like a harried construction site worker and an irritated manager arguing over some blueprints. Except the blueprints were a hovering hologram of a giant hollow ball, and the worker and employer were two blue-green aliens in space suits.

"This is amazing," Dib said. "I don't even recognize these aliens. Superficially, they look _kind_ of like Irkens, but..." He trailed off thoughtfully. "No, I don't think so. Definitely not Irkens. I don't know _what_ they are."

"Think you can find out?" Darkbootie asked.

"Maybe. I'll ask Tak's ship, see if it recognizes them." And if not, he could always fly out and check for himself. Not that he was going to tell Darkbootie that—he'd just worry about Dib.

Darkbootie nodded. "Just don't go and do anything reckless, now. I know that's your way, charge right into danger—but we don't know enough about these fellows. We can't even tell whether they're a threat yet. I don't want you to go and turn them _into_ one."

Dib was about to protest—either that he wasn't going to do anything reckless or that he had the right to do something reckless if he wanted, he wasn't sure yet, he'd decide that when he opened his mouth—but then he thought over Darkbootie's advice, sighed, and nodded. He had a point. _Every_ alien they ran into couldn't be a threat, could they? Some of them had to be alright.

"Can I keep these?" Dib asked. "To show to Tak's ship." And also pin up in his room.

"Sure! Printed them off for you, you're the only agent that visits me at work."

Dib beamed at him. "Thanks." He stuffed the pictures he'd already looked over in his pocket and turned to the next one. He started, blinking in amazement. "Oh _wow_. Check out that ship."

"Really something, isn't it? Like an eighteen wheeler to the stars," Darkbootie said. "You should see the next page, you can see through the front window a little."

Dib eagerly turned to the next image.

###

"That's weird," said the young scientist with the coffee jitters. She pointed at one of the screens from Mars. "Observe the constellations. It looks like Mars isn't in our solar system. And check _this_ out!" She pointed at another screen. "There's another planet next to Mars! Where'd _that_ come from, huh?"

"Remarkable!" Membrane leaned over the back of her chair to observe the screen. "And what strange gray structures it's covered in. They almost look like... like..."

"Parking garages?" the scientist ventured.

For a moment, they contemplated this strange parking-garage-covered planet that now neighbored Mars.

"What an unexpected but no doubt totally natural array of stone formations," Membrane said.

###

"You oughta head back to your dad soon, don't you think? He's probably wondering where you are by now."

Dib deflated slightly. "Oh. Yeah."

"Now, what's that look for?"

"I'd rather stay here and look at aliens." Dib shrugged. "All Dad cares about is ' _real science._ '" He put on a fake deep voice to imitate his dad's. "Which is _stupid._ "

"Hold on now. What's stupid about real science? Do you think I'd work at NASAPlace if science was stupid?" Darkbootie pointed at the pictures of Jupiter. "We wouldn't have these if real science hadn't sent probes to Jupiter. Those probes aren't powered by ghosts, son."

"They could be," Dib mumbled.

"They _could_ be," Darkbootie conceded. "But not until real scientists learn about ghosts and figure out how to stick 'em in batteries. You see? The paranormal is just science that scientists haven't figured out yet. It isn't one or the other."

Dib contemplated that, staring at the Jupiter pictures. "Huh."

Darkbootie squeezed Dib's shoulder sympathetically. "And your dad should understand that, too. I'm sorry he doesn't. Wish I could help you make him see it, but..." Darkbootie winked. "He's a little too old for me to lecture. But you're not."

"I'm a _fully-fledged Swollen Eyeball agent,_ " Dib said, hoping Darkbootie wouldn't point out that he was an agent that needed a parent's signature to give presentations to the rest of the agency. "You can't lecture a fellow agent."

"Yes I can, I've got seniority over you," Darkbootie said. "Anyway, I'm only telling you not to be so hard on the 'real scientists.' Try speaking your dad's language. Show him the hard science inside things like ufology and parapsychology, and he'll meet you in the middle."

Dib felt like he'd done that before. But he guessed maybe what he'd been doing was telling his dad that aliens etc. were real, and then showing him all his evidence—after Dad had already decided not to believe him. What if he started off with the evidence the next time he had something big, made Dad see the evidence and agree it was solid, and then tell him what the evidence meant?

He turned the possibility over in his head.

###

Membrane had to ask half the employees if they'd seen his son before he narrowed it down to the hallway where Dib had last been seen; and then he didn't even think to check the unassuming janitor's door in the middle of the hall until Gaz opened it and Dib's voice drifted into the hallway: "I'm kinda thinking about just skipping college and apprenticing under a full-time investigator; but that might make it harder to get an internship at some of the _really_ haunted places, you know? I dunno, it might depend on if I'm still fighting—"

Exasperated, Gaz said, "Dib, what are you doing."

Dib started. "I, uh..." He noticed Membrane and started again. "Hey! Dad! I was just..." He pointed at the elderly man sitting across from him. "Hanging out with the janitor?"

They all stared at each other.

Gaz said, "That's kinda creepy," at the same time Membrane said, "Wonderful! A squeaky clean environment is the necessary foundation on which all scientific discoveries are made! Sir, you perform a respectable and honorable duty at this facility."

The janitor perked up. "Well, thank you, sir."

What a relief to find out that Dib had actually been talking to a professional in an important science-adjacent position rather than causing trouble. "And what have you been discussing?"

Dib's face momentarily went blank. "Uh... pictures of Jupiter?"

Membrane was over the moon.

###

On the way out of NASAPlace to go get pizza, Membrane said, "Son, did I overhear you discussing your college plans with the janitor?"

"Oh. Uh. Yeah," Dib said.

"I hadn't realized you were thinking so far ahead. Well done." Membrane didn't exactly approve of his current plans—getting an internship at a "haunted" location? Not going to college at all?—but the mere fact that he was thinking about his future in such depth was far beyond the level of maturity Membrane had expected to see out of Dib. He supposed he'd underestimated Dib because he hadn't yet grown out of thinking that ghosts were real; but that clearly didn't mean Dib hadn't grown in other ways. He ought to pay closer attention. "Daughter, have you started thinking about college yet?"

Gaz snorted. "Nope."

That was fine. She was younger. She had time.

"We didn't talk about it that much anyway," Dib muttered. "It was mostly the pictures of Jupiter."

"Ah! Which reminds me!" Membrane fished a tablet out of a pocket in his lab coat. "If you're interested in pictures of Jupiter, you might also like these images from the Mars feeds."

"The feeds still work?!" Dib took the tablet and nearly dropped it. " _Whoa!_ Is that another planet? Where _is_ Mars?"

"We have absolutely no idea," Membrane said. "Observe the oddly geometric natural rock formations on Mars's new neighbor."

"Natural formations," Dib muttered. He looked like he was about to say something, hesitated, then said carefully, "You know, Dad. The probability is really low that rocks would naturally form rectangles like that, isn't it?"

"With the exception of a few crystalline structures, yes," Membrane said. "And these formations don't appear to be crystalline. Truly fascinating!"

"But it's _very_ common for, say, an intelligent species to build square structures," Dib said, gesturing at a nearby building as an example. "Right?"

Membrane saw where he was going with this. "Yeees," he said grudgingly, "but! The odds that an intelligent species is _actually there_ is ludicrously low!"

"Is it lower than the odds that natural structures would form that just so happen to look like gigantic parking garages?"

"Undeniably!"

Dib said, "Huh," with audible disappointment in his voice.

But as they headed to Bloaty's Pizza Hog, Membrane found himself wondering.

**Author's Note:**

> Post for this fic available on [tumblr](https://ckret2.tumblr.com/post/633167956977795072/nasaplace) and [twitter](https://twitter.com/ckret2/status/1321210801831686144?s=20). If you enjoyed the fic, comments/reblogs there are highly appreciated (as are comments here)!


End file.
